Planning Your Exercise After Breast Augmentation Surgery

The process of recovering from breast augmentation surgery can be painful and slow-going, especially during the few days right after your procedure. However, as your incisions continue to heal, and the weather continues to improve, you may find yourself itching to get back onto that running trail or into the gym.

You should resist these impulses for the first few weeks after surgery. The recovery process from any surgical procedure is fairly long, and by attempting to dive right back into your previous schedule, you are setting yourself up for failure. Exercising too quickly can lead to injury, or even re-tearing your incisions. And after a breast augmentation, muscles in your chest, back, and shoulders may need strengthening before they can hold the weight of your new breasts.

Instead, you should work with Dr. Gartside to create an exercise plan that allows you to gradually ramp up your level of activity. A possible exercise plan might tell you to:

• Take short 5-minute walks the first week after your surgery.
• Extend the walks to 10 minutes in the second week.
• The third week, extend the walks to 15 minutes, and make sure you do 3 of them every day.
• During your fourth week, talk to Dr. Gartside about resuming your exercise routine.
• In the fifth week, you may be able to resume some regular exercise.
• After the fifth week, start increasing your exercise if you are still healthy.

Note that this is only an example of a plan, and may not apply to you depending on the results of your surgery.

You can plan your exercise recovery with Dr. Gartside as part of your breast augmentation consultation. To set up an appointment at Image Plastic Surgery Associates, use this website or call 703-742-8004. Dr. Gartside serves patients in McLean, Fairfax, and the surrounding areas.